Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s relationship with his former boss and in-ring rival Vince McMahon entered a new chapter when Hollywood’s most muscular actor bought the beleaguered XFL for $15 million. Johnson, who purchased the XFL along with his business partner and ex-wife, Dany Garcia, and private equity investment firm RedBird Capital, reportedly bought the league from McMahon hours before it was supposed to be auctioned to the highest bidder.
Johnson reportedly split the $15 million purchase price evenly with RedBird Capital. The deal must be approved by a bankruptcy judge before it’s made official.
“This is a Hollywood ending to our sale process and a start of fantastic new beginning for the XFL with the best possible ownership group going forward.” – XFL President Jeffery Pollack
The XFL, originally launched in 2001, was relaunched earlier this year by McMahon to provide football fans with an alternative to the NFL — McMahon’s decision to revive was due, in part, to many NFL players kneeling for the national anthem.
And while it didn’t reach ratings close to the NFL, the XFL did average 1.9 million viewers per game for the five weeks it was on. But midway through its 10-week season, the rest of its games were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. All employees were laid off in April, and the league filed for bankruptcy.
It was supposed to auction off its assets on August 3, but that was canceled due to the new purchase.
This is a great purchase — not only is The Rock a great entertainer and businessman, he’s a former football player himself and an NCAA national champion. We look forward to seeing how The Rock turns this into a force to be reckoned with.
